ACTION was being taken on many fronts to help alleviate flooding problems around Wellington and in particular in Payton Road and Westford, Rockwell Green, Somerset Council said this week.

The council’s efforts included serving a legally binding notice on one offending landowner to take action to prevent the contamination of highway drainage with mud and silt.

Other landowners had been advised during the past 18 months by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group on farming methods to help mitigate field run-off.

Water can be seen pouring from a field onto Payton Road, Westford, Rockwell Green.
Water can be seen pouring from a field onto Payton Road, Westford, Rockwell Green. (Chris Penney)

A council spokesperson said there was also a ‘Wellington waterways’ scheme being funded by the Somerset Rivers Authority to de-silt local watercourses.

The Wellington Weekly asked the council why drains in Payton Road leading into Westford were blocked, with one in particular spouting water like a babbling spring.

Highways officers then visited to inspect the drains and report back on the issue.

The spokesperson said the flood and water management team was ‘well aware of the flooding problems along Payton Road, running down into Westford’ and ‘silting in the natural watercourses that drain this area’.

They said the main problem was Payton Road was badly affected by surface water running off surrounding agricultural land that was in constant cultivation.

The surface water entered the highway laden with silt and mud washed off the fields which in turn went into the drainage, settled, and blocked the interconnecting pipes.

A drain already overwhelmed by water in Payton Road, Westford, Rockwell Green, this week.
A drain already overwhelmed by water in Payton Road, Westford, Rockwell Green, this week. (Chris Penney)

The spokesperson said: “We have already undertaken three extensive drainage jetting actions along this lane this year, together with verge ploughing and road sweeping.

“No sooner have we jetted and cleared the system, further mud and silt deposits again block the drainage pipes through the process described.

“Additionally, the highway drainage system outfalls into the natural watercourse that runs through Westford and when the levels in this watercourse rise significantly, the outfall for our drainage system is submerged, reducing the flows through the system, which only serves to perpetuate the problem.”

Drainage in Payton Road, Westford, Rockwell Green, was this week proving unable to cope after being blocked by silt.
Drainage in Payton Road, Westford, Rockwell Green, was this week proving unable to cope after being blocked by silt. (Chris Penney)

The spokesperson said the council could not guarantee the system would be able to cope if there was further persistent and heavy rainfall, and the advice to all residents who had experienced flooding previously was to take necessary preventative measures.

Details of measures which could be taken were available on Somerset Council’s website under ‘Flood Prevention and Sandbags’.

The spokesperson said the council was planning a number of minor works schemes in the next financial year in Payton Road to help make the highways drainage system more resilient.